Shloka 8
विराटसभायां पाण्डवानां प्रवेशः — Arjuna’s Encomium of Yudhiṣṭhira in Virāṭa’s Court
पार्थेन सृष्ट: स तु गार्ध्रपत्र आपुड्खदेशात् प्रविवेश नागम् | विदार्य शैलप्रवरं प्रकाशं यथाशनि: पर्वतमिन्द्रसृष्ट:
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
pārthena sṛṣṭaḥ sa tu gārdhrapatra āpuḍkhadeśāt praviveśa nāgam |
vidārya śailapravaraṃ prakāśaṃ yathāśaniḥ parvatam indrasṛṣṭaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The arrow released by Pārtha, feathered with vulture-plumes, entered the elephant at the region of the temple, sinking in with its feathers. It was as though Indra’s thunderbolt had split a radiant lord of mountains and then disappeared into its very heart—an image of irresistible force meeting the pride of brute strength.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming efficacy of disciplined martial prowess: when power is guided by mastery (and not mere rage), it becomes decisive and precise—symbolized by the arrow’s clean penetration and the comparison to Indra’s vajra.
Arjuna (Pārtha) shoots a vulture-feathered arrow that pierces an elephant at the temple region, entering so deeply that even the feathers go in; the poet intensifies the scene by likening it to Indra’s thunderbolt splitting a shining mountain and vanishing into it.